I debated whether to add to the "white noise" of blogs, articles and facebook posts responding to the tragedy in Connecticut. What can we do but grieve?
Last night I started seeing a quote by Morgan Freeman popping up around facebook. Maybe you've seen it. It was well-stated, I thought, and one of his main points was that we shouldn't focus our attention on who the killer was (as the "sensational" media does), that we should "forget his name" and instead remember the victims themselves.
As I was lying in bed, I realized that because I haven't been following the news very much (probably a good thing) I wasn't quite sure what the killer's name was. I could only vaguely remember that the killer's first name was Adam.
Adam.
In a footnote in my Bible it says "Adam" sounds like the Aramaic word for "Man." As I was thinking about this it struck me: this is not necessarily an indication on of one man's awful decision, but an indication of the depravity of mankind. And not just mankind's depravity, but my depravity!
I could say I would never do anything like this, but because of my sinful nature I am capable of committing a similar atrocity.
If I hate "my brother" (and I have), I guilty of murder. (1 John 3:15, cf. Matthew 5:21-22)
I, not exclusively a small group of Jewish religious leaders 2000 years ago, am responsible for Christ's death. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
According to Jesus' standards, I am a murderer.
Does this sound depressing? Sure. But there's another part to the story. Because of God's Grace, and only because of God's Grace, am I made righteous. (Romans 5:19) My sin is forgiven! I am no longer guilty! "While we were still sinners (THAT'S US!), Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) I couldn't do anything to regain my innocence. Christ did that for me.
And that is Good News!
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Pin Win? Or Pinstrosity?
In the months since getting married, Pinterest has provided a wealth of recipes to try. While I'm happy to report that none (so far) have been a disaster, there are a few that haven't turned out quite as I hoped. Today I'd like to share some of my favorite Pinterest recipes and a few ones that...might need some tweaking yet.
First - the marginally successful ones:
I couldn't ever get mine to look like the picture. Granted, I did use drumsticks instead of wings. They tasted fine, but they weren't crispy. And every time that I've tried it so far, I've tossed them in the salt+vinegar before baking, in the middle of baking, AND at the end.
Mine still stuck to the pan and turned out limp and kinda mushy. As for the taste - it wasn't really anything that special. Maybe I just need to try it again?
And some favorites:
Super quick and easy! Loved this and will definitely do it again.
A hearty, delicious soup with lots of veggies. Did I mention that this is a crockpot recipe?!?
I recently made this with 2% milk instead of half and half, and it tasted fine. While the recipe says to cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, I think it needs more time than that. I put the crockpot on HIGH for about 4 hrs. and then on LOW for another 45 min. at the end, and the veggies still had a bit of crunch. If you like your soup chunky, then this is probably good enough. If you like your tomato soup a bit smoother, then I would puree it at the end.
This is DELISH! Also very unhealthy. But hey, it's cheap and easy to make to give away in bulk, especially over the holidays. I followed the recipe exactly and it worked great for me!
So there you have it. I've tried quite a few other Pinterest recipes, but most of them were mediocre and not really worth mentioning. Maybe some of them will make it into my next Pinterest blog post. :)
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